Last week we answered a series of questions from the previous week.  (We get many of the same questions every week.)Host JC came across the book Particles of Truth at a recent UWDEOHS seminar on community air quality projects. Researchers were enthusiastic about it and after reading it, we can understand why.Particles of Truth provides a history of resarch on PM2.5 particles -- the last addition to the list of criteria pollutants in 1997. The book discusses the challenges faced in getting funding, getting listened to, and ultimately, what it takes to obtain regulations that lead to better public health.One of the most disappointing and confusing aspects of the SAMP is not just the lack of mitigation, it's that everyone seems to be 'in compliance'.How can there be so much obvious air pollution from 450,000 annual operations. And yet the results of a lengthy study indicates that the airport is not only currently in compliance, but even after adding almost 90,000 more operations will still likely continue to be in 2032!We provide a thumbnail of how air pollution regulation began in the early 1970's, how much initial progress was made in just a few years, how it was meant to be built on, and then how industry developed techniques to push back and slow both research and further improvements to a dead stop.Environmental regulation is a two-edged sword. Once a pollutant gets on 'the list', the government has tremendous authority in regulating emissions. However, getting on the list has become harder and harder. Industry and apathy have been at the heart of so much of this. Everyone supports research in public, but work behind the scenes to limit funding. Since most independent research is done by universities that live off of state and federal budgets, that is a fairly simple matter.If you don't have data that rises to the proper level of rigor, you can never regulate. As it should be. But if you cannot regulate, agencies are also not required to measure. If you're not required to measure, you can never get the data. Round and round we go.That is how Sea-Tac Airport can generate so many aviation emissions and be free of compliance or mitigation requirements. Aviation-specific emissions are not on 'the list' of regulated emissions and not enough money is ever available to fund the work necessary to get there.No data? No problem.It's as if, environmental regulation became 'good enough'. After the most obvious catastrophes were averted, it became tougher and tougher to get public enthusiasm for more. 'Regulation' stopped being a word one could say in polite company.Faced with so many challenges, after a while, researchers sometimes begin to self-censor; asking for only a fraction of the funds they need to make the same rapid progress they were able to achieve in the 1970's.It will happenParticles of Truth shows that positive results still happen. Despite being unknown during the rollout of EPA, today they are heavily regulated and by so doing have saved countless lives. As with lead, PM2.5s and so many other hazards to public health, the same will happen with aviation emissions.SAMP for DummiesWhere's My Clair Patterson?PSCAA Activates AQMMOV-Up StudySTNI: Legislation 2026To learn the rest of the story on each of these programs: stni.info/subscribe

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